A highly versatile step, sous-sus involves a small knee bend -- or plie -- followed by a quick, seemingly effortless rise onto the toes. The movement concludes in a tight fifth position en pointe, with the legs pressing together. As you proceed through various phases of the movement, different muscle groups are activated, including muscles in the leg, ankle, foot and core. You might use your arms when performing sous-sus, but they are primarily decorative. You get your power and control from muscles located in your torso and lower body.

Definition

Sous-sus has its origins in the Cecchetti method of classical ballet. The term's literal meaning is “under-over,” which hints at the fact that the dancer’s legs are tightly stacked one under -- or rather, behind -- the other. Beginning in fifth position, the dancer bends her knees into a demi-plie, and then rises onto the balls of her feet. If she's wearing pointe shoes, she springs onto full pointe. What distinguishes a sous-sus from a basic releve – or toe rise – is the tight drawing-together of the legs and feet. When a dancer performs a sous-sus properly, she leaves no space between her legs and one foot lies directly in front of the other. Because the dancer rotates her legs and feet outward, when the sous-sus is viewed from the front, it gives the appearance of one foot with two heels.

Demi-plie

Preparation for a sous-sus involves a small bend in fifth-position demi-plie. Bending the knees slightly in a proper plie activates the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, quadriceps femoris and calf muscles. Maintaining your turnout -- or external rotation of the legs -- in plie involves strong use of the external rotator muscles that lie deep in your hip socket. These rotator muscles remain activated throughout later phases of the sous-sus as well, helping you maintain your turnout when you rise onto your toes.

Releve

As you spring into high releve, the muscles of your feet and ankles play a larger role. They are activated as you press against the floor's resistance and pull your feet into a tight fifth position en pointe. As you quickly draw your legs together, you trigger strong activity in your glutes, calves and adductors, the inner thigh muscles that draw your legs toward your body's midline. Your abdominal and back muscles also play a crucial role in releve, stabilizing your spine and helping you maintain your balance, especially if you are working without a barre. Activation of your quads keeps your knees pulled up, which contributes to your long, continuous leg line.

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Tips

Eliza Gaynor Minden, author of "The Ballet Companion," advises consciously squeezing the inner thigh muscles together to get a tighter, more compact line in releve. Working conscientiously helps develop strength in the adductors and gluteals. Visualizing yourself gripping a quarter between your inner thighs, writes Gaynor, can help you develop an awareness of -- and build strength in -- these muscles. Karen S. Clippenger points out in her book, “Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology,” that a dancer should avoid “sitting” at the bottom of a plie, which would result in a relaxation of the leg muscles and a subsequent loss of power. Aim to move quickly from your bent-knee position to your position en pointe. Clippenger also writes that keeping the plie shallow and timing the release properly might contribute to greater fluidity, a trait that will improve the quality of your sous-sus.

References

Teaching Beginning Ballet; Gayle Kassing and Danielle Mary Jay

Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet; Gayle Grant

Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology; Karen S. Clippenger

The Ballet Companion; Eliza Gaynor Minden

About the Author

Judy Fisk has been writing professionally since 2011, specializing in fitness, recreation, culture and the arts. A certified fitness instructor with decades of dance training, she has taught older adults, teens and kids. She has written educational and fundraising material for several non-profit organizations and her work has appeared in numerous major online publications. Fisk holds a Bachelor of Arts in public and international affairs from Princeton University.